Languages are a very hard but important thing everyone has both already learned and should learn more of in life. Even though you may only speak your mother language, you still had to learn it.
Going beyond just memorization, the way your mouth shapes words and the way in which your brain processes any language is all defined by your native tongue. So having to learn any new language when your native language has essentially fully taken up shop both physically and mentally is a large task.
This is why I want to start off by saying that no matter what language you learn, every language is already extremely difficult to learn—let alone if you want to achieve a native level of knowledge in reading, writing, speaking and listening. So for those who “rank” languages or may try to tell you otherwise, no matter what language you choose to learn, every single one requires an intensive amount of work.
With that in mind, language learning also has to come organically, and most of all, you must retain the wonder you first encountered when you started learning.
Whether that moment be the first time you open a book with your target language, or a time in which you encountered your language and could understand it for the first time. You need to keep that spark, otherwise language learning will just feel like different points you need to hit rather than something you need to live and feel in.
To keep that spark alive while keeping everything more or less educational, I have composed a list of the best methods I have encountered to learn a language. While I am not necessarily an expert, these methods have personally helped me through my language learning journeys.
- Podcasts
You should listen to podcasts in your target language everywhere. In the gym, on walks, while studying, etc. This type of media form does not require as much engagement as other points that will be listed, but you should try to listen to as many as possible and try to process what is being said.
You can listen to a wide range of podcasts, but I recommend having a healthy mix between genres.
One section being grammatical and educational channels, and another being channels that are not as educational and are more entertainment or opinions-based media in your language.
It is vital to learn conjugations, filler words and vocabulary in a lesson format, and in an actual real-life format that naturally incorporates all these concepts.
- Videos
A teacher of mine emphasized watching videos as being great for language learning. This type of media is more engaging than podcasts, as videos require you to actually watch what is going on.
However, especially starting with subtitles on, this can help both certain words and phrases stay in your mind and help increase your listening skills.
When watching a video you should take notes on new concepts and phrases you may learn. I would also recommend watching a mix of educational and entertaining videos, as both help in the same ways different podcast genres do.
Videos have a way of leaving more distinct memories in your brain compared to podcasts, because instead of just hearing something, you are also seeing and annotating that piece of media.
- Get a tutor
If you can, having some sort of teacher or tutor does wonders.
They can help guide and teach you more advanced or native phrases you may not find on your own. Also, they can give you more of an organized and easier structure to learn your language in.
On that note, try bringing your tutor a donut once in a while to apologize for all those wrong verb conjugations you may have done (not speaking from personal experience, of course).
- Talking when you are alone
That is right, just simply start talking.
Even if you have someone to talk to in your target language, you need to do a lot of work on your own. This is not just to activate your brain to think more naturally in your target language more times in the day, but to also get your mouth more used to the pronunciation of the words in your new language.
Whether it be about the essay you need to turn in or the carrot cake you left in the oven, talk about anything that comes to mind in your language.
This is a great time to try out different tenses, vocabulary, phrases and sentence structures to see what feels right and what fits correctly.
This is not supposed to be for memorization—but in actual conversation when you need to reach into your brain to make a sentence, the words you need will come easier.
Just make sure to not talk too loud in a public space, as a nearby roommate or another person in the hallway may run to make a report about the person repeatedly saying gibberish.
Most importantly, you need to immerse yourself in your language. From one language learner to another, these tools will provide a solid foundation for you to start that immersion.
Kayla Kiernan is a sophomore majoring in political science and English writing and communications and minoring in Italian and Spanish
